We are sad to report that our friend Nancy Carry has
passed away. Widely known by her e-mail handle, “nannynine,” Nancy was a trade
unionist and antiwar leader. A founding member of Kansas City Labor Against the
War, she also played a central role in the Kansas City Iraq Task Force in the
run up to the invasion when hundreds, at times thousands, rallied at the Plaza
Fountain. Whether at a planning meeting, mass demonstration, or watching a
Royals game, Nancy was always a pleasure to be around. She will be missed.

Reading Some of the Numbers* Home mortgage foreclosures hit the highest rate in more than a
half-century. Though all classes of loans have seen defaults rise the so-called
“subprime” are the chief culprit. Those are the ones that lure working class
renters with low teaser rates to start them on the road to home ownership--and
then bash them with ballooning rates down the road. While there is now much
tongue clicking about these unsound practices this is what has fueled the
housing market, and home ownership rates, over the past decade.

* The Consumer Price Index posted an increase of 0.7
percent, the biggest one-month gain since the fall of 2005 when energy prices
surged after Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast oil production. This time it
was not only sharp increases in gasoline but also in food that drove the CPI up.

* The flip side of the price hike surge was the report
that weekly earnings for non-supervisory workers, after adjusting for inflation,
fell by 0.2 percent last month. That was the fourth decline in the past five
months, reflecting the bite inflation is taking out of paychecks.

* A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed
President Bush’s approval rating had sunk to 26 percent. That could have been
expected. Perhaps more shocking to some was that the new Democrat congress got
even lower marks. The “opposition” managed only a 23 percent thumbs-up. It seems
the same priority issue drove both numbers down–the war in Iraq.

Need A Wooden StakeIt looked like the bipartisan immigration bill was mortally wounded
in the Senate. But, after getting a boost from a rousing reception in Albania,
President Bush returned home to call and pump. The majority leader has now
consented to another try. Optimism revived, SEIU, supporters of the guest worker
legislation, sent a scouting party to Mexico to meet with government and
employer officials to explore how they could get a taste of the new deal.

Meanwhile, heavy heat is being applied on immigrant
workers. After the city of New Haven, Connecticut declared itself a sanctuary
city, and issued ID cards to immigrants, ICE made some backatcha high profile
raids. Far from intimidated, immigrant rights supporters in that town staged an
impressive march (you can see short video by clicking here.)
For a good summary of where things stand see David Bacon’s Who Killed the Immigration Bill, and
Who Wants It to Come Back?

Getting A Hearing In
Sacramento
Michael Moore is based in New York, not Hollywood. He doesn’t quite cut the same
action figure as the Golden State’s governor. But the producer of SiCKO,
with the help of some friends, got a lot of attention in the California capital.
He appeared at an unofficial public briefing led by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl,
D-Santa Monica, the author of a state single-payer bill. Then it was off to a
thousand-plus march and rally on the capitol steps, organized by the California
Nurses Association. “Very early on, [the CNA] were out front on this issue and
have been very supportive of me,” Moore said. “And I was very supportive of them
in terms of hoping that this issue would come to the forefront. And now it is.”

In addition to the California
bill, Moore and the CNA are promoting HR676–modeled on the Labor Party Just
Health Care program--introduced in congress by John Conyers. Conyers said, “The
release of Michael Moore’s ‘Sicko’ is one of the most important developments in
the national debate on our health care crisis since the Clintons attempted to
pass universal health care legislation in 1994.”

Oprah Winfrey featured Moore on
her top rated TV show and was quite supportive of single-payer. Steelworkers
president Leo Gerard has written an upbeat review of the film.

CNA and Physicians for a National
Health Care Program are mobilizing to distribute single-payer literature at
SiCKO screenings in 3000 theaters. The idea is to get those informed and
entertained by the film involved in the grass roots political movement needed to
win single-payer. As Moore noted, “Funny how they both have the same root word:
‘movie,’ ‘movement.’ ”

Save the ILS
The Institute for Labor Studies, based at the University of Missouri Kansas
City, has been one of the few labor institutions in this town we could be proud
of. Directed by Judy Ancel, the ILS not only puts on regular credit courses of
use to labor but has organized numerous conferences, helped unions with
strategic planning, organized labor history tours, and has been the producer of
the award winning weekly radio show, the Heartland Labor Forum. ILS was
an initiating sponsor of the upcoming Labor& Sustainability Conference.

All that could come to a halt
tomorrow. Campus management is looking to scrap the whole program. While they
have used a mandate to cut the UMKC budget by one percent as an excuse that dog
doesn’t hunt. The ILS has always been self-sustaining–often profitable--in
fiscal terms.

This is a message I sent to the
UMKC chancellor,

Dear Chancellor Bailey

I am surprised and disturbed
after learning of your decision to terminate the Institute for Labor Studies,
and Judy Ancel's position as ILS director.

I served for several years on the
ILS advisory board representing Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1287. Since my
retirement I have continued to stay in touch with ILS activities. I know the
diverse classes and other programs that the ILS has made available. I also know
that this is a unique source, one that would be sorely missed if you follow
through with your announced plans to scrap it.

My experience on the board also
taught me that the ILS programs are financially self-sustaining. Tuition, or
subsidies from unions, covered the budget. There can be no fiscal justification
for ending this valuable resource.

Regardless of your intentions, or
pressures you may feel from others, termination of ILS will be seen as a slap in
the face to working people in our area. I strongly urge you to reverse this ill
advised measure.

Sincerely,

Bill Onasch
webmaster, kclabor.org
retired Vice-President ATU 1287

If you live in the Kansas City area I urge you to
send a similar message immediately to:
chancellor@umkc.edu